Five Points West Pizitz, Birmingham

Here is a spectacular image of the Pizitz store at Five Points West Mall in Birmingham, Alabama, sometime in the 1970s. This is one of my favorite types of architecture for mall anchors.

Founded by Louis Pizitz in 1899, this store became the leading Birmingham merchant during much of the 20th century. It was a traditional department store, selling everything from toys to clothes to sporting goods to candy. It ran 12 stores at its peak, many in Birmingham, but stores operated in towns such as Huntsville, Montgomery, Florence, and Tuscaloosa, as well. The merchant was sold to the McRae's chain of Jackson, Mississippi, in 1986, and the legendary Birmingham store's nameplate was dropped in favor of the firm from Jackson. In turn, McRae's went through several deals over the years, and finally came under the control of Saks, Inc. The McRae's stores were sold in 2005 to Belk, Inc., from North Carolina. The Pizitz family today still owns the real estate of many of their former stores.

Meier & Frank Flagship

Here are images from the Portland, Oregon, flagship store of the Meier & Frank Company. M&F was founded in 1857, and became one of the Pacific Northwest's largest merchants. It was purchased in 1966 by the May Company, which in turn was purchased by Federated Department Stores in 2005. Now all the old M&F stores bare the Macy's nameplate, as do almost all of the old regional stores. These pictures were taken in the late 1920s.

WANAMAKER'S - Moorestown Mall

A stunning shot of a legendary American store. This was one of the Philadelphia-based merchant's 13 stores. This is the one at Moorestown Mall in Moorestown, New Jersey. Thanks to "Malls of America" for this great photo, taken in the 1960s. MOA is a great blog for vintage photos and facts from American shopping malls in the 1960s and '70s.

Wanamaker's was one of America's first department stores, and a crucial Philadelphia institution for nearly 120 years. This certainly won't be my last Wanamaker's post, Lord willing. I plan on even posting a short bio of Mr. John Wanamaker himself, who not only was one of America's greatest merchants, but a statesman and a man who gave back to the Philadelphia community. A lot of his greatness was led by his strong Christian faith.

I'll post a bio of him along with other great American merchants. Stay tuned!

Welcome!

Hey! I am Jordan M. Iwanyszyn, a department store enthusiast! Although I am only 21, I am fond of the department stores of years ago. I am especially fond of the stores between the 1950s through the early 1980s. With this blog, I intend to make an internet collection of pictures and stories from these stores. We'll cover the stores from John Wanamaker's and Strawbridge & Clothier in Philadelphia (the stores I grew up with) to Pizitz in Birmingham to Dayton's in Minneapolis to J.W. Robinson's in Los Angeles. We'll cover the mall stores to the downtown flagships. We'll post videos of these stores and their commercials courtesy of YouTube. We'll try to re-create the grandness of these great institutions who have left a huge mark on American history.

Feel free to "shop" around and enjoy yourself. Thank you for window-shopping at the Grand Emporiums and come again!